Positive mental health and supportive school environments: A population-level longitudinal study of dispositional optimism and school relationships in early adolescence

The findings suggest that positive relationship experiences in school are key contributors to positive mental health, over and above the absence of negative relationship experiences (i.e., victimization). These findings also suggest that being embedded in a school with a positive social relational climate contributes to students' current and future positive mental health, over and above individual relationships with peers and adults. The present research extends previous research by identifying contextual assets that are linked to dispositional optimism and can be applied in the context of school-based intervention programs to promote positive mental health in schools.